KISSING THE BACKSIDE OF HISTORY: The Lowly Cabinet Card
Monday, April 18, 2011 at 7:24PM 
By now we've all tired of the well worn phrase "Instant Ancestors" that is used by antique dealers to sell their photographic wares. Yawn! As if you suddenly need to replace a branch from your broken family tree-- Quick, snag some dead people's pics!
But if you're a photo buff you know to quickly flip through boxes of old Cabinet Cards or CDVs, searching for your personal image-collectible-kink.
Some collect for the clothing worn, or the jewelry they are wearing (especially cameos).. and for men, pocketwatch chains), or even the style of their hair.
Remember getting your photo taken 100 years ago was a big deal and you wanted to look good... which is why most "sitters" are decked out in their Sunday best and then forced to stand completely still for a minute... or two... which is no small feat.
Often children were placed against a neck-brace device to stop them from squirming. Now and again you can find some blurry image of some kid who just couldn't sit/stand still. Love it!
This is also why photographs of cats and dogs are so prized... as "sit" and "stay" came in handy at the Photographer's studio. OK, not so much with cats, hence they are even more prized.
But that IS NOT what I am showing you today.